This easy Apple Spice Cake is packed with fresh apples, warm spices, and a buttery brown sugar pecan crumble. Made with a simple spice cake mix, it's an easy shortcut version of classic apple spice cake that tastes homemade.
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What Makes This Apple Spice Cake So Good
Fall is so close I can taste it! I'm diving into all of the flavors of fall today. If you're a fan of my caramel apple dump cake or this cake mix apple cobbler, this fresh Apple Spice Cake is going to be right up your alley!
I got a little bit of inspiration from my sweet potato casserole here - we're using a brown sugar pecan crumble that's going to give your cake a great texture combo. It feels homemade - without the homemade work.
Total Time Needed: 50-ish minutes
Great for: Fall parties, coffee dates
Baking Difficulty: Easy
I hope you love all of the flavors of fall in this delicious cake!
The Best Fresh Apples for Apple Spice Cake
Since we are adding real fruit to our cake, picking the right apple is super important. We want a kind that softens up in the oven but still hold their shape so they don't turn into a layer of mushy applesauce mid-bake.
My Top 3 Baking Apple Picks
- Granny Smith: This is my absolute favorite choice for this cake. The sharp, tart flavor cuts through the brown sugar and spices perfectly.
- Honeycrisp: These are naturally sweet and stay nice and crisp - you'll get a distinct bite of real fruit in every slice.
- Braeburn: A classic baking apple that holds up like a champ in the oven and blends into the spiced batter really well.
Pro-Tip: How to Slice Your Apples to Perfection
When it comes to prepping your fruit, the big trick is to core, peel, and slice your three apples nice and thin. Because a box mix batter rises up pretty quickly, thick chunks of apple will be too thick to soften and can drop straight to the bottom of your pan. Slicing them thin makes sure they stay perfectly suspended right in the middle of the cake, cooking evenly and giving you a great blend of fruit and cake in every single bite!
Ingredient Notes
(See recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact ingredient measurements.)
- Spice Cake Mix: Grab your favorite 15.25 oz box from the grocery store. (The ounces can vary by +/- an ounce...no problem!)
- Milk: Most cake mixes call for water, but we are using milk instead. It makes the cake so much richer - like it came from a bakery!
- Unsweetened Applesauce: This is our secret weapon for keeping the cake super moist and light without adding a ton of heavy oil.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter in my cake - it gives the sweetness a little bit of contrast. It won't taste salty, I promise!
- Eggs: If you can, set your eggs out on the counter for a little bit before you start mixing so they are at room temperature - they just blend in much smoother that way.
- Fresh Apples: We want medium baking apples, peeled and sliced pretty thin (think maybe ¼" thick).
- Crushed Pecans: We're splitting these up. Part goes into the brown sugar crumble to bake, and the rest gets sprinkled on top right at the end for a little crunch.
- Caramel Sauce: You can absolutely use your favorite store-bought jar/bottle here to save time! It adds a gourmet touch right before serving.
Additions & Substitutions
- Swap the pecans: If you don't like pecans or have an allergy, chopped walnuts or sliced almonds work too. For a nut-free version, just leave them out entirely - the crumble is still incredible on its own!
- No spice cake? No problem: If your store is out of spice cake mix, just grab a standard yellow cake mix. Stir in 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and a pinch of allspice before adding your wet ingredients.
- Switch up the fruit: You can easily swap the fresh apple slices for thin pear slices, or even fold a cup of fresh cranberries into the batter for a great holiday cake.
- Skip the caramel: If you want to dial back the sweetness, skip the caramel sauce and let the sugar glaze shine on its own. A quick dust of powdered sugar right before serving looks great too.
How to Make Apple Spice Cake
- Blend the Cake Base: Preheat your oven (usually 350°F; check the box) and grease an 9x13" baking dish with non-stick spray, or line with parchment paper if you'd like to remove the cake before serving. Whisk the dry spice cake mix, milk, butter, applesauce, and eggs until smooth. Pour into a baking dish either lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray.
- Layer the Fresh Fruit: Press your thin apple slices gently into the top of the wet batter in an even layer. Don't push them to the bottom! Just covering them in cake batter (with a little bit peeking out the top) works. The cake will naturally rise up and wrap around them as it bakes.
- Blend the Pecan Crumble: Melt the butter, then stir in the brown sugar, just ½ cup of pecans (save the rest for the end!), flour, and cinnamon with a fork until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle it evenly over the apples.
- Bake to Perfection: Bake the cake according to the cake mix package directions (usually 30 to 35 minutes). I had to bake on the higher end of my box recommendation to get the center set. Check it a few minutes early by poking a toothpick into the center; when it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, it's done.
- Whisk the Glaze: While the cake bakes, whisk the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth and pourable.
- The Final Drizzle: Let the cake cool on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes. While it's still warm, zigzag the glaze and caramel sauce over the top, then finish with your leftover handful of fresh pecans.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftovers: This one needs to be stored in the fridge. While a plain sheet cake can happily sit out on your counter, this upgraded version has real fresh fruit slices and a glaze made with milk. To keep everything completely fresh and safe, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days after baking.
Freezing: This cake can be frozen. Bake the cake with the streusel topping and store in a freezer bag for up to 6 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator when you're ready to serve it again, drizzling with the glaze and caramel sauce before serving.
Leslie's Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Make sure to let the cake cool for a 10-ish minutes before adding toppings like the glaze and the caramel. Drizzling a piping-hot cake makes the glazes liquefy and slide right off.
- You can make this cake ahead of time! In fact, this is one of those great desserts that actually tastes better on day two. As it sits in the fridge, the juices from the apples continue to move & groove with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Just keep it covered in the fridge until you're ready to serve.
- Not a fan of bigger chunks of apples in your cake? Feel free to dice the apple into smaller pieces! You can just mix them straight into the batter, rather than placing in the batter in individual slices. This makes the cake easier to slice into clean pieces.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
More Cake Mix Desserts
I hope this easy apple spice cake gives you a little bit of fall inspiration! If you give it a try, let me know what you think by rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and reviewing the post in the comments. And don't forget to follow along for the latest from LL Eats!
Apple Spice Cake with Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz spice cake mix
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup salted butter (room temperature; half a stick)
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 2 Granny Smith apples (cored, peeled, and sliced thin)
For the Brown Sugar Crumble
- ¼ cup salted butter (melted; half a stick)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup crushed pecans
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Toppings
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- bottled caramel sauce
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, blend the spice cake mix, cup of milk, applesauce, and eggs. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13" baking dish lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray very well.
- Press the peeled apple slices into the cake batter.
- In another bowl, blend the butter, brown sugar, crushed pecans, flour, and cinnamon with a fork until there are no lumps. Pour this crumble over the top of the cake batter.
- Bake cake according to package directions (toward the higher end of the cooking time estimate).
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and tablespoon of milk to form a thick glaze.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven and cools for 10-15 minutes, garnish with the sugar glaze and caramel sauce.
Notes
- Pan Size: Use a 9x13" pan. Smaller pans will overflow once you add the layers of fruit and crumble.
- Fruit Slicing: Slice your apples nice and thin (think ¼" thick). Just lay them right on top of the batter and push in lightly - the cake will puff up around them as it bakes.
- Baking the Center: Because fresh fruit adds moisture, expect to bake on the higher end of your box's time limit (around 30-35 minutes) to get the center fully set.
- Cool Before Drizzling: Let the cake cool for 10 to 15 minutes before adding your glazes. If the cake is piping hot, the caramel and glaze will melt and slide right off.
Nutrition Facts
Leslie Lambert is a lifestyle writer and content creator specializing in home organization, family recipes, and intentional living. With 17 years of experience in blogging and digital storytelling, she helps busy women create calm, purposeful homes they love.
